1. Field of Invention
The present disclosure relates to records management and, more particularly, to a records management system and method that permit a user to tag, store and/or retrieve pertinent records based on user criteria.
2. Description of Related Art
Records have long been an important part of everyday life. For example, physicians are required—under various laws—to maintain medical records for a certain period of time. These records can be quite useful in diagnosis and analysis of a patient's condition, particularly when the patient has been seen by multiple doctors.
These medical records can also be useful to legal professionals when, for example, a patient files a worker's compensation claim or when a patient files a claim for medical malpractice.
In the past, medical records were largely maintained as paper records in file rooms. However, as the volume of paper records increased, so did the space required to store them. As a result, those persons responsible for maintenance of these medical records moved to electronic scanning and storage of their medical records.
Although advances have been made in that medical records are electronically stored, the process of reviewing the records is not necessarily as streamlined or cost effective as it could be. For example, an attorney responsible for reviewing and analyzing a worker's compensation or medical malpractice claim may charge by the hour. The longer it takes to review the medical records, the greater the amount of money expended for the records review.
Along the same lines, doctors and other professionals may need ready access to pertinent medical records in order to make vital medical decisions regarding a course of treatment for a patient. In this instance, a shortened time for medical records review may be crucial. In addition, doctors may be responsible for numerous patients at a single point in time. Time taken for one patient may mean time unavailable for another. This factor also highlights the need for a more streamlined medical records review.
Accordingly, there is a need for a records management system and method that permit rapid retrieval and filtering of pertinent electronic records.
When attorneys and doctors are presented with a voluminous records project, they may need not only a streamlined and cost effective way to review the records, but they may also need a streamlined and cost effective way of creating a new custom-built record that includes only the pertinent information that was reviewed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a record storage and retrieval system that permits the creation of a new record that includes on the pertinent information reviewed.
At times, when legal professionals are involved in the review of medical records for purposes of worker's compensation claims, medical malpractice claims and the like, they may need to readily cite to particular pages of those records in litigation. Accordingly, there is a need for a record storage and retrieval system and method that readily permit citation to those records if needed.